Published: Friday, November 8, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, November 8, 2013 at 12:47 a.m.

For the third time since December, the city of Tuscaloosa is looking to sell the downtown headquarters of Focus on Senior Citizens.

Just as before, nearby residents are concerned with how the new ownership will affect them.

Each time the 13,000-square-foot facility on Sixth Street has come up for bid there has been only one interested party: University Stations LLC, a company consisting of Charles Spurlin, owner of The Shirt Shop on Greensboro Avenue, and the owners of Innisfree Irish Pub, which now operates next door to the Focus building.

The first bid was overturned after residents complained it was not fairly advertised. University Stations was again the lone bidder after the second round, but its offer was rejected after it failed to meet all the requirements laid out by City Hall.

University Stations’ latest offer was submitted Monday and is $1.1 million, the appraised value of the property. The company plans to convert the building into six individual spaces — five for daytime retail, such as boutiques or small specialty shops, and the sixth as a 3,500-square-foot banquet hall to be used for private events.

The City Council’s Properties Committee was informed of the bid on Tuesday, but it won’t make a decision on the offer until at least Nov. 19, when the council’s Community Development Committee will host a hearing to gather comments from residents.

Should the sale be approved, Focus will move to the Leroy McAbee Sr. Activity Center on Loop Road. Proceeds from the sale will be used to renovate the McAbee Center to accommodate the seniors group.

Members of the Original City Association say they are worried that allowing University Stations to buy the building will increase the party-like atmosphere the area has experienced since the arrival of Innisfree.

Association president Kelly Fitts said that in 2010, just months after Innisfree moved from Greensboro Avenue to its current location on University Boulevard, residents of nearby historic neighborhoods began experiencing the effects of drunk and wandering bar patrons.

“We currently have a problem with intoxicated people wandering through our neighborhoods — and into our homes, on occasion — and causing instances of vandalism to our property,” she said.

Fitts said at least two intoxicated strangers have stumbled into her Audubon Place home, one has fallen into her property’s fish pond, and she’s seen more than she can recall wander through her backyard.

Twentieth Avenue resident John Earl, who lives two blocks from the bar, also reported a harrowing incident with a bar patron that involved the Tuscaloosa Police Department.

“I’ve had three policemen pull a patron of Innisfree from my roof,” Earl said. “He’d been in a fight and the police pursued him down 20th Avenue until he ran behind my house and somehow managed to climb on top of my roof.

“I would not like any more people who drink too much wandering in or driving on the streets.”

In October, the city’s Office of Planning and Development Services conducted an unofficial survey of the streets surrounding Innisfree and nearby neighborhoods.

Over the course of three weekends — Aug. 15-17, the week before University of Alabama began its fall semester; Aug. 22-24, the weekend after classes began, and on Sept. 21, the Saturday of the Crimson Tide’s first home football game — a team of city officials and police officers, including Chief Steve Anderson, watched the activity of downtown patrons as they left Innisfree and surrounding establishments.

They saw six incidents of public urination, one fight outside Innisfree, one person vomiting on Seventh Street, more than 20 house parties and lots of people walking.

“A lot of them were staggering,” McConnell told the City Council’s Properties Committee on Oct. 1. “There’s a lot of walking going on. And if you’re impaired, walking is a lot better than driving.”

But they did not see any activity trends that would necessitate immediate law enforcement or public safety involvement, McConnell said.

Spurlin said he has met numerous times with members of the Original City Association and residents of the nearby neighborhoods to try to address their concerns.

Those meetings, Spurlin said, are now over.

“We’ve had the darnedest time with these neighborhoods,” Spurlin said. “I’ve met with them, but I’m not meeting with them anymore. They don’t hear what I say.”

Spurlin said he has repeatedly said the banquet hall would not be physically connected to Innisfree. Rather, it would be served by Innisfree’s kitchen and bar whenever it was in use for a private function.

He said his goal is to restore the Focus building to much of its original look, with exposed brick on the exterior and tall ceilings and hardwood floors on the inside.

Spurlin referenced other downtown establishments he has had a hand in revitalizing — Mellow Mushroom, Catch 22, Five Restaurant and Coffee Shop and several locations inside Temerson Square — as examples of how he intends to restore the Focus building.

Tripp Rogers, a co-owner of Innisfree, said the banquet hall space would not be used unless it is being rented.

“It will not be used as an overflow,” Rogers said, noting that Innisfree’s 4,700 square feet of space was ample for his purposes. “I don’t want a huge bar. We have plenty of room.”

Fitts said she was aware of the assurances made by Spurlin and Rogers. And while she and her neighbors are prepared for some disturbances because of their proximity to the UA campus, she said the events have steadily increased for her and others in the downtown area in recent years.

This has caused her to worry not only about her neighborhood, she said, but also the fate of the patrons — many of whom are UA students — and the possibility that one may wander into the wrong house and end up shot.

“We just want to live among people who have respect for the law, and everybody needs to have respect for others,” she said. “When it’s your home and your property that someone is trespassing into or someone is vandalizing, it only takes one or two incidents of that to make you mad.”

<p>For the third time since December, the city of Tuscaloosa is looking to sell the downtown headquarters of Focus on Senior Citizens.</p><p>Just as before, nearby residents are concerned with how the new ownership will affect them.</p><p>Each time the 13,000-square-foot facility on Sixth Street has come up for bid there has been only one interested party: University Stations LLC, a company consisting of Charles Spurlin, owner of The Shirt Shop on Greensboro Avenue, and the owners of Innisfree Irish Pub, which now operates next door to the Focus building.</p><p>The first bid was overturned after residents complained it was not fairly advertised. University Stations was again the lone bidder after the second round, but its offer was rejected after it failed to meet all the requirements laid out by City Hall.</p><p>University Stations' latest offer was submitted Monday and is $1.1 million, the appraised value of the property. The company plans to convert the building into six individual spaces — five for daytime retail, such as boutiques or small specialty shops, and the sixth as a 3,500-square-foot banquet hall to be used for private events.</p><p>The City Council's Properties Committee was informed of the bid on Tuesday, but it won't make a decision on the offer until at least Nov. 19, when the council's Community Development Committee will host a hearing to gather comments from residents.</p><p>Should the sale be approved, Focus will move to the Leroy McAbee Sr. Activity Center on Loop Road. Proceeds from the sale will be used to renovate the McAbee Center to accommodate the seniors group.</p><p>Members of the Original City Association say they are worried that allowing University Stations to buy the building will increase the party-like atmosphere the area has experienced since the arrival of Innisfree.</p><p>Association president Kelly Fitts said that in 2010, just months after Innisfree moved from Greensboro Avenue to its current location on University Boulevard, residents of nearby historic neighborhoods began experiencing the effects of drunk and wandering bar patrons.</p><p>“We currently have a problem with intoxicated people wandering through our neighborhoods — and into our homes, on occasion — and causing instances of vandalism to our property,” she said.</p><p>Fitts said at least two intoxicated strangers have stumbled into her Audubon Place home, one has fallen into her property's fish pond, and she's seen more than she can recall wander through her backyard.</p><p>Twentieth Avenue resident John Earl, who lives two blocks from the bar, also reported a harrowing incident with a bar patron that involved the Tuscaloosa Police Department.</p><p>“I've had three policemen pull a patron of Innisfree from my roof,” Earl said. “He'd been in a fight and the police pursued him down 20th Avenue until he ran behind my house and somehow managed to climb on top of my roof.</p><p>“I would not like any more people who drink too much wandering in or driving on the streets.”</p><p>In October, the city's Office of Planning and Development Services conducted an unofficial survey of the streets surrounding Innisfree and nearby neighborhoods.</p><p>Over the course of three weekends — Aug. 15-17, the week before University of Alabama began its fall semester; Aug. 22-24, the weekend after classes began, and on Sept. 21, the Saturday of the Crimson Tide's first home football game — a team of city officials and police officers, including Chief Steve Anderson, watched the activity of downtown patrons as they left Innisfree and surrounding establishments.</p><p>They saw six incidents of public urination, one fight outside Innisfree, one person vomiting on Seventh Street, more than 20 house parties and lots of people walking.</p><p>“A lot of them were staggering,” McConnell told the City Council's Properties Committee on Oct. 1. “There's a lot of walking going on. And if you're impaired, walking is a lot better than driving.”</p><p>But they did not see any activity trends that would necessitate immediate law enforcement or public safety involvement, McConnell said.</p><p>“Quite honestly,” McConnell told the committee, “it's pretty peaceful.”</p><p>Spurlin said he has met numerous times with members of the Original City Association and residents of the nearby neighborhoods to try to address their concerns.</p><p>Those meetings, Spurlin said, are now over.</p><p>“We've had the darnedest time with these neighborhoods,” Spurlin said. “I've met with them, but I'm not meeting with them anymore. They don't hear what I say.”</p><p>Spurlin said he has repeatedly said the banquet hall would not be physically connected to Innisfree. Rather, it would be served by Innisfree's kitchen and bar whenever it was in use for a private function.</p><p>He said his goal is to restore the Focus building to much of its original look, with exposed brick on the exterior and tall ceilings and hardwood floors on the inside.</p><p>Spurlin referenced other downtown establishments he has had a hand in revitalizing — Mellow Mushroom, Catch 22, Five Restaurant and Coffee Shop and several locations inside Temerson Square — as examples of how he intends to restore the Focus building.</p><p>Tripp Rogers, a co-owner of Innisfree, said the banquet hall space would not be used unless it is being rented.</p><p>“It will not be used as an overflow,” Rogers said, noting that Innisfree's 4,700 square feet of space was ample for his purposes. “I don't want a huge bar. We have plenty of room.”</p><p>Fitts said she was aware of the assurances made by Spurlin and Rogers. And while she and her neighbors are prepared for some disturbances because of their proximity to the UA campus, she said the events have steadily increased for her and others in the downtown area in recent years.</p><p>This has caused her to worry not only about her neighborhood, she said, but also the fate of the patrons — many of whom are UA students — and the possibility that one may wander into the wrong house and end up shot.</p><p>“We just want to live among people who have respect for the law, and everybody needs to have respect for others,” she said. “When it's your home and your property that someone is trespassing into or someone is vandalizing, it only takes one or two incidents of that to make you mad.”</p><p>Reach Jason Morton at jason.morton@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0200.</p>